I Tried To Sign Half Of Them, Now I’ve Got Them

New Southampton manager Mark Hughes met with the media following his appointment as gaffer this week and he joked he’d probably tried to sign half of the current playing squad in previous years to no success, so he was delighted to now have the chance to manage them.

The 54 year old Welshman signed a deal at St Mary’s late on Wednesday night and he will be our manager for the remaining games of the 2017/18 campaign and then things will be assessed over the summer when his current deal expires.

He met with the players and hosted his first training session on Thursday and speaking to saintsfc as he met with club media later in the day, Hughes believed he had a good working knowledge of the group having come up against us on numerous occasions and he was certainly looking forward to getting to know them better.

‘I know a great deal about them from coming up against Southampton over the years. You get a real understanding of what they`re about and the style of play. If I`m honest, I`ve probably tried to sign half of them but haven`t quite got them over the line. I know a lot of the qualities these players possess, so it`s going to be good to get the opportunity to finally work with some of the players I missed out on with previous clubs.’

With Hughes’ first game coming on Sunday as we travel to face Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, our new gaffer has fond memories of the competition having lifted the trophy four times during his playing days.

‘From our point of view, we haven`t got enough time to do a gradual process – we have to hit the ground running. Undoubtedly, we`ve got good players here. Players that, for whatever reason, have found it more of a struggle this year.’

He added.

‘We`ll get down to the reasons why, but these players have the ability to win games in the Premier League and that`s what we intend to do. I don`t think we need to show any apprehension. We need to go out, express ourselves, show our ability and manage the game. I`m here to get the job done and make sure we`re in the Premier League next year.’